October

 October was one of those months that felt like I went to bed on Monday and woke up on Friday.  We were so busy the entire month that it was hard to keep track of the days.  A lot of things happened, a lot of time passed.  And I was going to try to keep up with the blog better.  Ugh.  Oh well, here is a photo recap of the month.

 Lilly turned 7 on the 7th, which means it was her golden birthday!   She had 7 friends over for a party that included lots of outside play, a horse pinata, supper and cake.  They all had a blast!  (Marley also celebrated a birthday in Oct and it was her golden birthday, too!  3 on the 3rd!)

 

Lilly lost her first tooth on the top--literally lost it!  She doesn't like to pull her own teeth and will get them super loose, then have Dad pull them.  Unfortunately, he tied it with floss and when he made the knot tight to sever the last bit of whatever holding the tooth in, the tooth flew across the room!  Oops!  That was Friday and when we got to church Sunday, her best friend had lost the same tooth the night before!

 

 Alayna got an award through 4H for being the junior beef showmanship champion for the county.  She accepted the award in front of an auditorium of people and also has her name engraved on a plaque that hangs in the county 4H office.

 Alayna also got her braces off!  :-)

They girls didn't have school for a Wed-Fri in October, so we went on a mini-vacation to get some quality family time that had been lacking with all the busy-ness of the last several weeks.  We headed out Thursday morning for drive up to Ashland and around to Superior, where we stayed for the night.  We met up with our friends in Duluth for a visit to Enger Park and dinner.  Friday morning we woke up early to drive to Ely, MN, in the hopes of seeing a moose.  We didn't see one, but we still had a lot of fun driving around, checking out the shops, and playing at the park.  When we got back to Duluth, we did some shopping and then went swimming at the hotel.  Saturday morning my friend met us at the hotel with coffee for a visit, and we headed home late morning.  It was so nice to get some great family time!

The last weekend of October, we finally got our project day in!  We re-shingled our roof, put concrete in the barn, replaced my cracked picture window and cut down a tree in the yard that leaned toward the house.  It was so great to have everyone here, helping out and volunteering their time.  Thank you to everyone!

Of course, we ended the month with Halloween.  I don't know what's up with the picture, but I can't change it now.  Ugh.  Anyway, Mikayla was Belle, Lilly was Jasmine and Alayna was a punk-rocker.  The girls had a lot of fun and got WAY too much candy, but that's okay.  They already have plans for next year.  :-)

Girls Only!

Thanks to all the storms this summer and it being a normal fall, Daddy is now busy every weekend for about 2 months.  He's either shingling houses, doing farm work or putting up grain bins.  *sigh*  The girls and I just keep holding on, trying to find fun things to do and hoping Daddy will be done early on Sundays (which most Sundays he's been home around noon).  A few weeks ago, we decided to head to Duluth for the day.  I'm so glad that we did!

It was such a fun, beautiful day.  Duluth is usually cool, since it sits on the SW corner of Lake Superior, but it was in the 70s that day!  We have a family pass to the Minnesota Zoo, and it gives us reciprocity to the Lake Superior Zoo in Duluth.  We started the day there, looking at all the fun animals and walking around the grounds, which include a great little hiking trail to a river and waterfall!

After the zoo, we ate our picnic lunch in the park next door.  The girls had a good time playing on the playground equipment once done eating, and I was attempting to keep my cool with all the seagulls that were invading my territory, hoping for some leftovers from our lunch.  I don't do well with wild birds that get too close.

When we were done playing, we headed to Enger Park.  Duluth is right on Lake Superior, and part of the city is at lake level while the rest rises above the city on a huge hill.  Enger Park is at the top of the hill and has a tall observation tower that you can climb.  At the top of the hill you can see for miles, but from the top of the tower it seems like you can see for days!  It's always a favorite place to visit in Duluth.  When we were there, there was one wedding party just leaving in limos, another was just arriving, and another party was taking pics overlooking the city.  The girls thought that was pretty cool to see all the brides and bridesmaids in their pretty dresses!

View from atop the tower (zoomed in quite a bit)

 View from the cliffs the tower is on (zoomed in quite a bit)

We were going to go into Canal Park, but I had checked with a friend and there weren't any ships coming into or leaving port for quite awhile.  So we just decided to head home.  We stopped for ice cream on the way home and then sang silly songs the majority of the drive home.  It was a great Girls Only day!

School's Cool

The girls have started school and for the first time ever, all 3 of my girls are in school on a regular basis.  Alayna and Lilly go every day, obviously, but Mikayla goes on the "days that start with T".  So far, they are all loving their classes and teachers.  Each day, they come home full of stories about things they've learned or friends they've made.  They love showing off their projects, especially Mikayla--everything is so new to her. 

For me, it's an adjustment.  It always seems so quiet and lonely with the girls gone back to school after a summer full of their giggles, stories and attitude.  But I've never been away from Mikayla on a regular basis like this.  I know I'll survive, I did with the older girls, but the fact that she's my baby does weigh a little heavier.  But she is so ready.  She has been wanting to go to school for years.  She knows her letters and her colors and shapes.  She can write her name.  She's ready, so I have to be, too.  (thankfully I have my daycare kiddos to keep me busy during the day!)

 Alayna is in 5th grade, Lilly in 1st and Mikayla in pre-Kindergarten (4K)

Mikayla got a little excited when she saw the bus (she's jumping and screaming) 

Waiting for the bus--it drives by, turns around and comes back so they don't have to cross the road 

Mikayla is on her way to her first ever day of school!

A Day All About ME! (and all the other Moms out there)

I had a wonderful Mother's Day this year!  I've been meaning to post these pics for awhile, but honestly I forgot until my friend Lexey posted on her blog (thanks Lex!).  I posted earlier about how I was woken to Sunny and her run-in with some fishing lures, but nothing about my great gifts and love!  Alayna was trying to surprise me with breakfast in bed, but we didn't have enough milk for pancakes and only 1 egg (yeah...I needed to grocery shop)  Instead, we all had toast with peanut butter and raspberry jelly or cereal, and I opened my wonderful, thoughtful gifts from the girls.  They are truly the best kids I could have asked for to make me a Mommy.  Every day I am so thankful for having them in my life!

This first series of photos is from a book Lilly made for me at school.  She also made the handprint plaque.  Then it's a card that Alayna made, with coupons for me to redeem.  I didn't take a pic of my other gift, but it's the entire series of Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman on DVD, including the 2 movies they made.  I have loved that show since it was on TV and watch re-runs on GMC all the time.  The girls have really gotten into watching it with me, so we're going to start from episode 1 and watch in sequence all the way to the end.

 

 

  

 

 

 

(Anyone want to teach me how to do those cool collages that I see on other blogs?  I didn't want to do them all in a row because that would be forever long...)

Lilly's Book reads: Happy Mother's Day.  My mom is the most wonderful mom in the word!  Her name is Candy.  She's pretty as a prinses.  She is 29 years old.  She weighs 90 pounds and is 30 tall.  She has blue eyes and brown hair.  Her favorite food is guockamoly.  In the good old days when she was little, she used to rid hoersis.  I think Mom is funny when she goes cross eyed.  But I know she's really angry when I don't lisin.  I wouldn't trade my Mom for lots of candy.  I love my Mom because I love her and she loves me.  Happy Mother's Day, Mom!  Love, Lilly.  (She also made me a card that says To: Mommy from: Lilly.  I love you a lot!  Happy Mothers Day!  And you are the best mom in the world!  But it won't post pics of that for some reason)

Alayna's card reads: Happy Mother's Day.  You are the best mom in the world.  Love: Alayna  This flower coupon is good for: cleaning the living room, a daughter/mom movie night, and breakfast in bed.

Mikayla's Big Weekend

On Saturday, my mom, the girls and I went shopping for Easter dresses. We headed to a mall and found perfect dresses. Then we decided it was time for a certain 3-year-old to get her ears pierced.

She's been wanting them done forever, so she could be just like her big sisters. We used it as motivation to help her quit sucking her thumb. Her poor thumb was so cracked and wrinkly all the time, not to mention the simple irritation on our part to see that thumb constantly in her mouth. So we told her she could get earrings when she stopped sucking her thumb. Well, it took a few months (this was at her birthday in December) She'd find herself with her thumb in her mouth, take it out and tell herself "No!" Or we'd catch her and simply say earrings, and that thumb would fly out of her mouth. So finally, we decided this weekend was it. She could get the beloved earrings. She cried, saying the "snipper" hurt when it put in her pretties, but that was quickly forgotten with a sticker, a sucker, and a look at herself in the mirror. Then all was good. And so far, she's been good about letting me clean them, as well!

Yesterday (Sunday) was an absolutely gorgeous day. Not only was it sunny and dry for the first time in over a week, but it was 62 degrees!! We broke a record high for the date. Obviously, as soon as we got home from church we hunkered down in the house. Or not. Maybe we spent the entire afternoon outside playing basketball, riding bike, swinging and sliding on the play sets, picking up a winter's worth of dog crap from the yard...all those fun things you do on the first real nice day of the year.

Mikayla had another milestone yesterday--she figured out how to pedal her tricycle! She was really close at the end of last year, but she just couldn't get things going and figured out on her own. This year, she didn't even try. She just got on, pedaled and went sailing across the driveway. She stopped and yelled, "I did it! I rided my bike myself!!" Then she had to show everyone she could pedal like a big girl and even went so far as to say it was because of her earrings.


After spending some time on the driveway, we headed to the backyard. Mikayla hopped on the PowerWheels Gator and decided to go for a drive. She worked on her steering and I think she's finally getting the hang of it! Then she wanted to go for a horsey ride, so we did that, too. See?

Now don't get me wrong, the other girls were about, too. Lilly was steadily practicing with her bike, trying to get the hang of no training wheels. She didn't master it yesterday, but she's getting closer. She's set herself a goal of no training wheels or help by summertime. It's so cute to see her lose her balance and catch herself, straighten her shoulders and say, "Let's try again." I have no doubt she'll be riding along in no time! Alayna was zooming around on her bike, sometimes trying to show Lilly what to do and other times just riding past her. She also helped Daddy move some things around with the aid of the lawn-mower, expertly driving and pulling downed trees and brush into the burn pile. All in all, it was a great weekend!

New Ride

For the girls' Christmas when they were 3 (or were about to turn 3), Andy's parents have bought them each a PowerWheels. Alayna got a 2-passenger Gator like the one on their farm, and Lilly got a lawn-mower like our big mowers we go camping with. This year was Mikayla's 3-year-old Christmas (technically it wasn't, but she turned 3 only days after) so it was her turn. They bought her a Ford truck that will hold 2 people and has a small box in the back to carry her heavy loads. With the driveway almost clear of snow and ice, we were finally able to take it out for her first test drive! She was so excited!

Daddy's first time rescuing her from being stuck

Lilly had to help her steer a couple of times

Lilly gets a try at driving the truck

I'm sure it won't be long and Mikayla will be a pro at driving the truck all over the place. Then we'll have a real caravan through our trails of Alayna's lawn-mower (she's outgrown her Gator and has her own lawn-mower now--minus the deck of course) Lilly's PowerWheels Mower and Mikayla's truck.

Peace

For the past several months, Emily over at Chatting at the Sky has hosted a weekly event called Tuesdays Unwrapped. She encourages people to take notice of the little things and unwrap a moment or event or something that us moms and dads and adults might normally not notice, or take for granted because we're so busy working and cleaning and paying bills. She's decided to take a hiatus for a few weeks, but when I saw this, I knew I wouldn't take a hiatus this week.



After working out yesterday during quiet time, I came down from my shower to see the girls playing Sorry! together. They were laughing quietly and being kind to one another when I wasn't there to "put a show on" for. It was wonderful.

My girls have been experiencing a painful stretch lately. Alayna is just old enough that she's too old to play with the little kids, but still young enough that she sometimes wants to. She lashes out occasionally because she gets frustrated, and then gets angry at herself because she knows better. Lilly is just old enough that she's realizing she doesn't have to do everything her older sister says, so she's starting to break out of the shadow and speak up for herself more. It's made for some crazy, moody, emotional days around here--for them and me.


I'll admit that I could handle most of these issues better than I do. I won't spout off excuses about being tired or overwhelmed. I'll take the blame like a big girl. I've been working hard to take a deep breath before I yell or punish, to try to understand where they are coming from and why they are reacting as they are before I react. But it's hard, and I'm human. I ask God for guidance and advice each night before I go to sleep, and oftentimes during the day as well. I admit to the girls that I'm not perfect, and ask them to do the same.


I think it's been working. They still fight and argue and threaten, but finally, I believe it's starting to sink in. They've been working harder to understand how their actions affect others. They're trying to live in the Golden Rule frame of mind. They are understanding that even though we are family and will always forgive and love one another, that doesn't mean we can take advantage of one another. At least I hope they are. But for now, we seem to have a moment of peace. I like peace.